If Sesame Street was your primary baby-sitter back when you were a kid, and you considered Kermit and Miss Piggy some of your closest friends (cough, cough), then you’ll want to be sure to check out Jim Henson’s Fantastic World , a traveling, 130-plus piece exhibition of the famed puppeteer’s original artwork, which opens at New York’s Museum of Moving Image this weekend. On display, you’ll find a mix of rough sketches and drawings, puppets, original storyboards, experimental video, and of course, tons of amazing photographs that document the rise of the Muppet franchise and give viewers an unparalleled glimpse inside of Henson’s brilliant mind. Click through now for a quick preview.
Henson and his characters. Photo credit: John E. Barrett, courtesy of The Jim Henson Company. Kermit the Frog © The Muppets Studio, LLC.
Jim and Jane Henson on the set during the filming of a Wilkins Coffee commercial in 1960. Photo credit: Del Ankers, courtesy of The Jim Henson Company. © The Muppets Studio, LLC.
Jim Henson, Jerry Juhl, and the drill team mechanical puppets in 1961. Photo credit: Del Ankers. © 2007 The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved.
Still from Jim Henson’s 1964 Oscar-nominated short film, Time Piece. © 2007 The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved.
Nutty Bird, a character that Jim Henson developed for Royal Crown Cola in 1966. ©2007 The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved.
Jim Henson performs the Sesame Street stop-motion piece The King of Eight, 1970. Photo courtesy of The Jim Henson Company. TM & © 2007 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved.
A sketch of Frackles, characters Jim Henson created for a 1970 television special. ©2007 The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved.
Jim Henson with Bert toy, 1971. Photo credit: Ted Neuhoff. ©2007 The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved.
Jim Henson with Kermit the Frog on the set of The Muppet Movie, 1978. Photo courtesy of The Jim Henson Company. Kermit the Frog © The Muppets Studio, LLC.
Mahna Mahna, a character who was featured in Jim Henson’s television work. Drawing courtesy of The Jim Henson Company. © The Muppets Studio, LLC.
Jim Henson performing Kermit the Frog in the early 1980s. Photo credit: Richard Termine, courtesy of The Jim Henson Company. Kermit the Frog © The Muppets Studio, LLC.